Book picks similar to
The Fire Bird: A Russian Folk Tale by Toma Bogdanović


picture-books
folk-moral-tales
youth-fiction
z-childrens

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs


Wanda Gág - 1938
    She always gets the answer she wants, until Snow White turns seven, and the mirror must truthfully answer, "Snow White." At the news, the Queen turns yellow and green with envy and commands the huntsman to kill Snow White and bring her "lung and liver as a token." Thus begins another enchanting fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm! Kirkus Reviews called this collaboration between Randall and Nancy Eckholm Burkert "a sort of legend even before its time of publication." Jarrell also wrote The Bat-Poet and The Animal Family, a Newbery Honor Book. Jarrell retained the Grimm (and grim) ending to the tale, as the stepmother is forced to dance to her death. Burkert's illustrations are magical, light-filled creations that more than earn the book its Caldecott Honor Book status. This delightful book's extra-large format showcases the fabulously detailed illustrations, alternating two facing pages of art with two pages of straight text. This is an unforgettable interpretation of a well-loved story. (Ages 6 to 9)

Tam Lin


Susan Cooper - 1991
    Tired of setting a good example for all the other young girls -- and of waiting to be married -- Margaret flings down her embroidery one day and runs out of the castle, over the fields to Carterhays, a wood that is supposedly haunted by Tam Lin, an Elfin knight. There, indeed, she meets Tam Lin, who is remarkably handsome. When she learns his story -- that he is human, not Elfin at all, and was stolen as a baby by the Elfin Queen -- she determines to help break the enchantment that holds him. Courageous and steadfast throughout one fearful night, Margaret defeats each dangerous and dramatic attempt by the Elfin Queen to keep Tam Lin. And when the morning sun rises, Margaret and Tam Lin ride together across the green fields of Scotland, back to the castle.

Ella's Big Chance: A Jazz-Age Cinderella


Shirley Hughes - 2003
     Ella Cinders loves helping her father in his dress shop and laughing with her friend Buttons, the store's delivery boy. Then comes the terrible day when her father remarries and everything changes. Her stepmother makes her sew in the dreary basement. Her stepsisters mock her shabby dress. And to top it off, the new Mrs. Cinders forbids Ella to attend the duke's grand ball. Heartbroken, Ella is sure that her life will never be what she dreamed. But with the help of a fairy godmother and some sparkling courage of her own, this Cinderella discovers that dreams can come true in the most unexpected of ways. Join Ella amidst the dazzle and fashion of the roaring twenties as she takes happily ever after into her own hands!

The Five Mouse Brothers


Rachel Yu - 2011
    But then...One brother, falsely accused of thievery, must face the "Wheel of Doom." What will they do to rescue him from his fate? Fortunately, an ingenious plan with the help of their family secret may just save the day. Join the mouse brothers on this fun and entertaining adventure, adapted from a classic Chinese folktale.If you enjoyed The Five Mouse Brothers, then check out The Five Mouse Sisters, now available.AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY:Best-selling author Rachel, 16 years old, is a young high school student from California who spends her free time using her vivid imagination to write stories. She has an unquenchable passion for science fiction and fantasy. In fact, A Dragon Named Dragon, is inspired by one of her favorite books, Dark Lord of Derkhom, by Diana Wynne Jones. A Dragon Named Dragon children's picture book is Rachel's first endeavor to the literary world.Rachel was recently featured on MTV Geek.geek-news.mtv.com/2012/01/23/meet-the-sixt...3081 KB

Vasilissa the Beautiful: A Russian Folktale


Elizabeth Winthrop - 1991
    A retelling of the old Russian fairy tale in which beautiful Vasilissa uses the help of her doll to escape from the clutches of the witch Baba Yaga.

Romi and The Wildfire


Ruskin Bond - 2010
    Romi needs to reach home with medicine for his sick father. But the forest he has to travel across has caught fire and is a dangerous place full of falling trees, leaping flames and panicked animals. Will he make his way across safely? Ruskin Bonds classic tale of extraordinary courage comes alive in this special illustrated edition for young readers.

The Useful Idiot: A Chilling New Thriller set in Stalin's Soviet Union


John Sweeney - 2020
    a gem of a novel' Robert Dinsdale Moscow, 1932. Gareth Jones, a young Welsh reporter, arrives in the Soviet Union excited to see for himself how Josef Stalin is forging a new civilisation. He meets American and British journalists who acclaim Stalin’s great experiment – but when Jones witnesses people starving to death in Ukraine, his belief in the Soviet revolution is shattered. He must decide whether to report the truth or become just another useful idiot, saying only what the Communist secret police allow and smothering the evidence of his own eyes. In this special kind of hell, anyone could be an informer, and Jones knows his life will be at risk if he is even thought to be defying Stalin. And when the woman he loves falls under the suspicion of the secret police, everything Jones values is in danger. Can he reveal the terrible truth about the Ukrainian famine to the world, or will he be silenced forever? THE USEFUL IDIOT is the secret history of the first great Soviet lie – wrapped up in an electrifying novel perfect for readers of Robert Harris, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, John le Carré and Kate Atkinson. As Vladimir Putin rewrites the Nazi-Soviet pact and with the horrors of Chernobyl and the Cold War so recent, this thriller of fake news in 1932 is real storytelling of enormous significance. *** John Sweeney is an award-winning journalist and a former long-serving BBC reporter. He is the author of eleven books, including three novels: the 200,000-copy bestseller ELEPHANT MOON, another historical thriller based on true events, two modern-day political thrillers, COLD and ROAD, an investigation into the Church of Scientology, THE CHURCH OF FEAR, an account of his time spent undercover in North Korea, NORTH KOREA UNDERCOVER. He tweets from @johnsweeneyroar.

The Little Scarlet Flower


Sergei Aksakov - 1858
    Beautifully illustrated story about the beauty and the beast, enchanted not only by an evil spell, but by love.

The Wild Swans


Amy Ehrlich - 1976
    When eleven princes are changed by an evil spell into wild swans, it is up to their sister, Elise, to knit them shirts of nettles, and remain silent while doing so, in order to break the spell.

Dick Whittington and His Cat


Marcia Brown - 1950
    Illustrated.

Dear Mili


Wilhelm Grimm - 1816
    A Grimm fairy tale, gloriously illustrated by Maurice Sendak, about a little girl who is sent to the forest by her mother to escape a war.

The Hand-Me-Down Doll


Steven Kroll - 1983
    Keep me and love me and give me a name, begs the doll. Finally, her luck changes when she meets a little girl who appreciates her and takes her home. Originally published in 1983, the slightly shortened text is beautifully interpreted in Dan Andreasen's nostalgic oil-painted illustrations.

Snow White in New York


Fiona French - 1989
    The story may be familiar, but the cast of characters will surprise you. Snow White is a beautiful jazz baby, protected by seven hot jazzmen. Instead of a wicked stepmother, her arch-enemy is the Queen of the Underworld. And her Prince Charming is a crack reporter from the New York Mirror. The breezy and clever text complements the style and color of the art deco illustrations, making this a picture book of astonishing originality. This winner of The Kate Greenaway Medal is at last available in paperback.

Jorinda and Joringel (Troll's Best Loved Classics)


David Cutts - 1812
    An ancient witch lived in the castle, and she had powerful magic. She cast a spell on any young man who came within one hundred steps of the castle—freezing him to the spot so he could not move or speak until the witch set him free. If a young girl wandered too near the castle walls, the witch turned her into a bird, and locked her in a cage inside the castle. But true love triumphs over evil enchantment in this story of one young couple, the beautiful Jorinda and Jorindel, the shepherd boy who loves her.

The Tale of Tam Linn


Lari Don - 2014
    And they were told the story of a fierce fairy knight who now guarded the woods for the fairy queen. But Janet didn't believe in fairy stories and Janet didn't like being told what to do.